Surface treating apparatus



June 1, 1965 AKE EMIL FORSLUND 3,186,022

SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS FIG.

67 z Q, y

INVEN TOR.

ATTORNEY June 1, 1965 AKE EMIL FORSLUND 3,

SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Arron/EvJune 1, 1965 AKE EMlL FORSLUND 3,18

SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 3

/0 7a 7/ 60 67 1 v 7 43 \W l /f 44 66 r I 32' L 45- 4 1. 69 l I 4, I 479 1' 35 I i I I H L6 5 2/ .20 92 f 55 4 f I l H a H 111mm iiiiliihliilil'n i 5/ INVENTOR.

" ATTORNEY June 1, 1965 AKE EMlL FORSLUND 3,

SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 H I 4495 H w K 34 2 In f 29 *2 75 2.; .5? ,77 f3 /2 June 1, 1965 AKE EMILFORSLUND 3,18

SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS Filed April 4, 1961 s sheets-sheet 5 FIG. 5

INVENTOR.

- ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,186,022, simmers TREATING nrranarnsAka Emil Forslund, Hagersten, Sweden, assignor to AktiebolagetElectroiux',

Filed Apr. 4,1961, Ser. No. 100,634 i j Claims priority; applicationSweden, Apr. 9, 196i),

, 8; Claims. (Cl. -445) tockholrn, Sweden, a corpo- This inventionrelates generally to a surface treating apparatus, and more particularlyis directed to an improved, surface treating'apparatus capable offunctioning as a floor polishe'r, scrubber, cleaner or sander.

ponents of the apparatus are arranged so that either afiltering and dustcollecting receptacle may be interposed between a suction passageopening adjacent the surface beingt'reated and the inlet or suction sideof the fan unit to remove dust or dirt from the surface being treatechorsuch filtering and dust collecting receptacle maylbereplaced by adispenser for wax, cleaning liquidi or other surface treatingsubstancewhich is discharged onto the surface being treated throughithesuction passage.

Another object is to, provide a surface treating apparatus of thedescribed character having a compact arrangement of the component's'thereof when the apparatus is operated with either the filtering anddustcollecting receptacle or the dispenser for treatingsubstanceinstalled thereon.

V In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a surface treatingapparatus comprises a downwardly opening base or hood from which one ormore rotatable surface. treating membe'ra project, a motor-fan unitmounted on top of the base and having an air inlet in a side thereof, asuction passage in the base opening at the bottom of the latter,connection means provided on the base adjacent the side of the motor-fanunit-having the air inlet and communicating with the suction passage,such connection means being adapted to attach to the base either afilterno [Ce 2 4t 7 a V In accordance with a further aspect of thisinvention, the upper compartment of the base defining the casing of thefan unit has discharge openings, at least some of which communicate withthe lower compartment of the base to supply air under pressure thereto,and such air is exhausted downwardly from the lower compartment aroundthe peripheries of the surface treating members to blow dust or otherparticles away from the latter.

The above, andother objects, features and advantages of the invention,willbe apparentin the following detailed description of an illustrativeembodiment. thereof which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying draw-' 7 rugs-forming a part hereof, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a surface treating apparatus embodyingthis invention, and'shown with its dustcollecting assembly installedthereon;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, but showing I the surfacetreating apparatus with its dust collecting assembly replaced by adispenser for wax, cleaning liquid or other surface treating substance;a

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view, partly broken awayjand invertical section, of the surface treat: ing apparatus shownwith its dustcollecting assembly installed thereon as in FIG. 1;

liquid or other surface treating substance installed thereon as in FIG.2; and g j I FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the lineV-'-V on FIG. 3. e I

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that a surface,treating apparatus embodying the present invention, andthere generallyidentified by'the reference numeral 1b, comprises a relatively broad andshallow base 11 of, metal'or suitablyrigid plastic having a top wall 12and a depending peripheral wall 13 whichjis preferably provided with arubber'or, other elastic bumper strip 14 extending around its outersurface} The top wall 12 and peripheral wall 13 of base 11 define adownwardly opening hood having rotatable surface treating members,

which' may be pads of steel wool or lambs wool, or of abradingsubstances,*such as, sandpaper, but which are shown as circular brushes15, projecting downwardly through the open bottom thereof. In theillustrated ap paratus 10, three circular surface treating brushes 15are 1 provided, as is apparent in FIG. 5', with two of the brushes ingand dust collecting receptacle disposed in a removable housing defininga chamber between the suction passage and air inlet, or a dispenser forwax, cleaning liquid or other treating substance to be dischargedtherefrom through the suction passage.

In accordance with another aspect of this invention, the base of thesurface treating apparatus is formed to define a downwardly open lowercompartment from which the rotatable surface treating members projectand an upper compartment defining the casing or housing for a fan orimpeller'rotat'ed' by an electric drive motor disposed in a housingmounted above the upper compartment of the base so that operation of thefan produces an air flow through the inlet opening provided in a sidewall of the motor housing and then through the electric drive motor tocool the motor, and the suction passage opening at the motor'housinghaving the air inlet opening therein.

being mountedrside-by-sidein the back portion of the hood-or base 11 andthe third brush being centrally mounted in the front portion of the hoodor base, and the latter','accordingly, is conveniently given a generallytriangular plan form configuration. I ,7 i

As is apparent in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotatable mounting for'each of thebrushes 15 includes a pulley or sheave 16 rotatably mounted within thehood or base 11 on a ball bearing 17 or the like carried by an axle 18depend. ing fromja boss 19, integral with top wall 12-. Each pulley 16has a hollow hub 20 defining a downwardly opening recess which receivesan insert member 21 having a downwardly facing hemisphere or'ball 22.The ball22 seats in a similarly'shaped socket 23 provided in-the uppersur:

vided between each pulley and brush, for example, in the a form of aprojection 25 extending from the pulley 16 and received loosely betweenjaws or projections (not shown) on the body 24 of the brush. 1

Base 11- of apparatus 10 further has anendlessfiange 26 projectingupwardly from'top wall 12 and a horizontal partition 27 extendingthereacross near the base of the flange and encircled by the latter sothat the partition FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the surfacetreat-, I ing apparatus, but with the dispenser for wax, cleaning 27separates a downwardly opening lower compartment 28 defined within base11, and which is coextensive with the peripheral wall 13 and houses therotatable mountings and drive pulleys 16 for the brushes 15, from anupper compartment 29 disposed above partition 27 and confined by theupstanding flange 26 to the central rear portion of the base.

A mounting plate 30 of insulating material seats, at its outerperiphery, on a shoulder provided at the inside of the upper edgeportion of flange 26 and supports an electric drive motor 31 thatincludes a rotor 32 rotatable on a vertical motor shaft 33 within astator 34 mounted in a motor casing 35. Plate 30 has a central openingwhich receives the lower end wall of motor casing 35 and the latter hasa peripheral flange 36 seating on the inner peripheral edge portion ofplate 30. Further, the lower end Wall of motor casing 35 has openings 37located adjacent its center to communicate with the chamber 29 which isotherwise closed, at its top, by the lower end wall of motor casing 35and the mounting plate 30.

The shaft 33 of motor 31 projects downwardly from motor casing 35through compartment 29 and through a central opening in partition 27into the lower compartment 28, and a driving pulley or roller 38 (FIG.4) is mounted on the lower end of shaft 33 and is in driving engagementwith an endless belt 39 of rubber or other suitable resilient materialwhich is under tension and passes around the peripheries of the pulleys16 associated with the brushes 15. A fan or impeller 40, preferably ofthe centrifugal type, is fixed on motor shaft 33 within the uppercompartment 29 which forms the housing of a fan unit. Screened airexhaust or discharge openings 41 are formed in the lateral and backportions of flange 26 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3), while additional air dischargeopenings 42 are formed in partition 27 adjacent flange 26. Thus, whenfan or impeller 40 is rotated by motor shaft 33, it creates a suction orvacuum adjacent the center of compartment 29 and a relatively highpressure adjacent the outer periphery of the latter so that air is drawninto compartment 29 through openings 37 and exhausted from compartment29 partly through the openings 41 into the atmosphere, and partlythrough the openings 42 into the lower compartment 28.

The motor 31 is accommodated within a housing 43 having a top wall 44and a depending peripheral side wall 45 which seats, at its lower edge,on the top edge of flange 26. The forwardly facing portion 46 of sidewall 45 has an opening 47 disposed therein adjacent the top of motorhousing 43 and provided with a screen or filter 48, while the upperportion of motor casing 45 is formed with openings 49 so that all of theair supplied to the fan unit must pass through the openings 47 and 49and through the motor 31, for cooling the latter, prior to reaching theinlet openings 37 of compartment 29 housing the fan.

As is apparent in FIGS. 3 and S, a suction passage 50 opens downwardlyalong the front portion of the periphcry of base 11 and is preferablydefined between the inner surface of peripheral wall 13 and a partition51 which is spaced inwardly from the peripheral wall 13 and formed witha rearwardly directed top portion joined to the top wall 12, as byscrews 52 (FIG. 3). The suction passage 50 communicates with connectionmeans, for example, in

the form of an erect, slightly tapered neck 53 projecting upwardly fromtop wall 12 of base 11 at a central location on the forward portion ofthe base.

A thin elongated brush 54 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) projects downwardly fromthe back surface of partition 51 along the length of the latter forengagement with the surface to be treated immediately in back of thebottom opening of suction passage 50. Further, an inwardly directedsealing plate or baflie 55 (FIGS. 3 and 4) projects inwardly from theback surface of partition 51 and from the inner surfaces of the side andback portions of peripheral wall 13 at a level immediately below thelower surfaces of the pulleys 16, and the sealing plate 55 is formedwith a suitably selected pattern of openings 56 therein through whichair can escape downwardly around the peripheries of brushes 15 from thelower compartment 28, as hereinafter described in detail.

The surface treating apparatus 10 is intended to be operated with eithera dust collecting assembly 57 (FIGS. 1, 3 and 5) or a dispenser 58 forwax, cleaning liquid or other treating substance (FIGS. 2 and 4) mountedon base 11 in front of the motor housing 43.

The dust collecting assembly 57 includes a filtering and dust collectingreceptacle or bag 59 preferably having a soft, porous paper side wallprovided with a longitudinal series of peripheral pleats, a base or endwall 60 at the end of the pleated side wall which is uppermost in theoperating position and, at the other end of the bag, an end wall ormounting plate 61 of cardboard, light sheet metal or the like providedwith a central, slightly tapering collar 62 projecting into the bag 59and adapted to telescope over the neck 53 of base 11. Thus, neck 53 andcollar 62 form cooperatively engageable connecting means for attachingthe bag 59 to base 11 with the interior of the bag in communication withsuction passage 50. The inner end of collar 62 is closed by a rubberflap valve 63 which opens into the bag when subjected to a suction orvacuum in the latter. As is apparent in FIG. 3, the portion 64 of thepleated side wall of bag 59 nearest to the end or mounting plate 61 hasuniform cross-sections, while the remainder 65 of the side wall of thebag increases progressively in its cross-sectional area toward theuppermost end wall 60.

Acover 66 is also included in the dust collecting assembly 57 and has atop wall 67 and a curving side wall 68 depending from the front andlateral edge portions of top wall' 67 and seating, at its lower edge, ontop wall 12 of base 11. The cover 66, when in its operative position, asshown in FIGS. 1 and 3, cooperate with the forwardly, facing portion 46of side wall 45 of the motor housing 43 to define a compartment 69accommodating the dust collecting bag or receptacle 59 and communicatingwith the air inlet opening 47 of housing 43. The cover 66 is releasablyheld in its illustrated operative position by a latch 70, which may bein the form of a knob rotatably mounted on the top wall 44 of motorhousing 43 and having a nose 71 adapted to overlie a rim 72 extendingalong the back edge of top wall 67 of cover 66. Thus, knob 70 normallyretains cover 66 on base 11 where it forms an extension of the motorhousing 43, as is apparent in FIG. 1, but the turning of knob 70 towardone side or the other, as in FIG. 4, withdraws the nose 71 from contactwith the rim 72 and thereby permits removal of cover 66 preparatory todisengagement of the collar 62 of dust collecting bag or receptacle 59from neck 53.

The dispenser 58 for wax, cleaning liquid or other treating substanceincludes a sheet metal or plastic tank or container 73 formed with abottom wall 74 that is inclined downwardly towards the center and havinga slightly tapered collar 75 concentric with the center of bottom wall74 and depending from the underside of the latter to fit on the neck 53of base 11 and thereby cooperate with neck 53 to form the connectingmeans by which the tank or container 73 is releasably attached to thebase. The bottom 74 of tank 73 has a central opening 76 from which thereextends a flexible tube 77 preferably formed of rubber or light plastic.When the dispenser 58 is to be mounted on the base 11 in place of thedust collecting assembly 57, the tube 57 is thrust through neck 53 anddown suction passage 50, as in FIG. 4, with the flexible tube 77 bendingsuitably to conform to the shape of passage 50.

The discharge opening 76 at the bottom of tank 73 is normally closed bya needle valve 78 which extends slidably through a bearing 59 in the topwall 80 of the tank. A helical compression spring 81 is interposed bevtoopen the discharge opening 7'6'to any desired extent by means of apullchain 83 which extends from a ring 8d at the up er end of needle valve78 to a ring 85 (FIG. 2) engageable with the handle as by which thesurface treating apparatus 1b is guided or manipulated during itsoperation; Polishing wax, cleaning'liquid or other treatingsubstance'maybe poured into tank or container '73 through an openingwhich is provided in the top wall 80 thereof and normallyclosed by a capor cover 3'7. Preferably the tank 73 is'vented during the discharge oftreating substance therefrom, for example, by a longitudinal groove 78aformed in the upper portion of needle valve 78 so that, when the latteris raised, the upper end of groove '78a,'which is normally situated inbearing 79, is disposed above the latter while the lower end of groove78a still extends below the bearing for communication with the space intank 73 above the liquid treating substance. I

The handles 86 by which the apparatus 10 may be manipulated extendlaterally frorn the upper or free end of an elongated rod 88 which issuitably connected to the base 11, for example, by a bail or fork 89secured at its center to the lower end of rod 88 and having its op;posite ends pivoted 011 pins 9% projecting from the lateral portions offlange 26 of base 11. Further, the base 11 may have a pair of downwardlyand rearwa-rdly opening" housings 91projecting from the back thereofwith wheels 92 being rotatably mounted in housing 91 so as'to benormally raised from the surface being treated when the base" ishorizontally disposed and'supported by the rotated brushes 15. However,the wheels 92 areengageable with such surface to provide a wheeledsupport for the apparatus 10 when the latter is rocked rearwardly duringtravel between the locations of storage and use.

Electric current for operating the drive motor 31 may be suppliedthrough conductors housed in a flexible cable 93 and connected, at oneend, to a conventional plug-94 and, at its other end, to a switch (notshown) in motor housing 43 which is adaptedto be controlled by anexternally disposed foot operated pedal 95 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 Theelongated rod88 carrying the manipulating handles 85 may be convenientlyprovided with hooks 96 or other holders on which the flexible cable 9dcan be coiled during storage-of the apparatus, as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

When the surface treating apparatus It is operated with the dustcollecting assembly 57 installed on the base 11, brushes 15 are rotatedby motor 31 through drive pulley or roller 38, belt 39 and pulleys 16 soas to polish or buff the floor or other surface to be treatedSimultaneously, motor 31 drives fan or impeller 40 so that the suctionor vacuum thereby created adjacent the center of compartment 29 producesan air flow upwardly through suction passage 5% for removing dust orother particles from the surface being treated in advance of the brush54 which loosens the dust or other particles. The dust laden air flowpasses from suction passage 5% through neck 53 and thesuction openedflap valve 63 into the interior of porous bag 59, and theair flow thenpasses through the porousside wall of bag 5-9-which filters the dusttherefrom so that the latter is collected in the receptacle or bag 59.After passingthrough the porous side wall of bag or receptacle 59, theair is drawn from compartment 69 through the screen or filter 48 in theopening 47 into the housing 43 containing the motor 51, and then passesthrough" the openings 49 and 37 at the upper and lower ends,respectively, of the motor casing for cooling the motor prior toentering the compartment 29 forming the housing or of the fan 40. Theair under pressure discharged from compartment 2d is partly exhausted tothe atmosphere through the screened discharge openings 41 and partlyexhausted through openings 42 into the lower 7 compartment 28 of base 11to create a relatively increased pressure in compartment 23 above thepulleys 16 and the sealing plate'or bafiie 55. Such relatively increasedpressure produces downwardly directed air flows through the openings 56of baflie 55 adjacent the peripheries of brushes 15 'to blow dustortother particles on the surface being 5 treated away from theoperative areas of the brushes.-

On the other hand, when the dust collecting assembly 57 is replaced bythe dispenser 58 for wax, cleaning liquid or other treating substance,as previously described herein, such treating substance is discharged,at will, through tube 77 passing downwardlyin passage 50 and onto thesurface being treated in advance of the brushes 15 rotated by operationof motor 31. During such use of the apparatus 1%, air is drawn' from theatmosphere into housing 43 through the screened opening i7, andonceagain passes through the motor 31 for cooling the latte'r prior toentering the housing or compartment 29 of the fan 40. Further, aspreviously described, the operation of the fan causes a part of the airexhausted under pressure from compartment 29 to be discharged downwardlythrough the openings 56 in sealing plate or baflie 55 near theperipheries of the brushes 15, thereby to blow away dust or otherparticles from the operative areas of the brushes which polish or budthe surface being treated or scrub the latter, depending upon thetreating substance discharged from the tank 73"of dispenser 58. r

From the foregoing description. of an illustrative'embodiment of thisinvention, it will be apparent that a surface treating apparatus hasbeen provided which is constructed and arranged so as to be convenientlyadapted to penser 58 are adapted for mounting on the base 11 next to themotor housing 43 to provide a compact arrangement in either case. I

Although an illustrative embodiment of the invention has been describedin detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, itis to beunderstood that'the invention is not limited to that precise embodiment,and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein byone skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of theinvention, except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is: J 1. In a surface treating apparatus of thedescribed character; the combination of a downwardly opening base,rotatable surface treating means mounted within said base and projectingdownwardly from the-latter for contact with a surface to be treated, amotor-fan unit on said base having air inlet means at a side ofsaid-unit and air outlet means, said motor-fan unit being operative todrive said surface treating means and to produce a decreased pressure atsaid air inlet means for inducing an air fiow into the latter, said basehaving a suction passage opening at the bottom of the base, connectionmeans on said base located adjacent said side of the motor-fan unit andcommunicating with said suction passage, dust collecting means includinga porous receptacle having a mouth engaged with said connection meansand a cover removably mounted on said base to define a chamber en'-closing said receptacle and communicating with said air inlet means ofthe motor-fan unit so that the decreased pressure produced at the airinlet means causes air flow into said suction passage and through saidporous receptacle in the compartment with dust entrained by said airflow being filtered and collectedin said porous receptacle, and said airoutlet means of the motor-fan unit opening, at least in part, into saidbase so that, upon latter.

2. In a surface treating apparatus of the described character; thecombination of a base having a downwardly opening lower compartment andan upper compartment separated by a partition extending across thelatter, rotatable surface treating means mounted within said lowercompartment and projecting downwardly from the latter for contact with asurface to be treated, a motor housing mounted in said upper compartmentand containing an electric drive motor having a shaft extendingdownwardly through said upper and lower compartments, transmission meansin said lower compartment to drive said surface treating means from saidshaft, a fan on said shaft in said upper compartment, said uppercompartment having air outlet means opening, at least in part, throughsaid partition into said lower compartment, air inlet means forsupplying air to said upper compartment and including an opening in aside wall of said motor housing, said base further having means defininga suction passage opening downwardly along a portion of the lower edgeof said base, said base further having connection means communicatingwith said suction passage and opening at the top of said base adjacentsaid side wall of the motor housing, a removable cover mounted on saidbase to enclose a chamber into which said opening and said connectionmeans both open, and a removable, porous dust collecting receptacledisposed in said chamber and having a mouth releasably engaged with saidconnection means so that, upon operation of said motor, rotatingmovement is imparted to said surface treating means, and said fan drawsair in through said suction passage, to collect dust entrained by theair in said receptacle, and exhausts air into said lower compartment fordownward escape from the latter around said surface treating means.

3. In a surface treating apparatus of the described character; thecombination as in claim 2, wherein said motor has a casing within saidmotor housing, and said casing has openings at its upper and lower endsincluded in said air inlet means and communicating with the interior ofsaid motor housing and with said upper compartment, respectively, sothat all of the air drawn into said upper compartment by said fan mustfirst pass through said casing of the motor to cool the latter,

4. In a surface treating apparatus of the described character; thecombination as in claim 2, wherein said air outlet means also open fromsaid upper compartment directly into the surrounding atmosphere so thata portion of the air exhausted from said upper compartment passesdirectly into the atmosphere.

5. In a surface treating apparatus of the described character; thecombination as in claim 2, wherein said dust collecting receptacle hasits mouth adjacent the bottom of the receptacle, and the latter furtherincludes valve means normally closing said mouth and being opened by airflow through the latter.

6. In a surface treating apparatus of the described character; thecombination of a base having a top wall and a depending peripheral walldefining a downwardly opening hood, surface treating members rotatablymounted in said hood and projecting downwardly from the latter forcontact with a surface to be treated, means defining a housing on aportion of said top wall of the base, a fan rotatable in said housingabove said portion of the top wall, a drive motor in said housing abovesaid fan and connected to the latter and to said surface treatingmembers for effecting simultaneous rotation thereof, said housing havingair inlet means including an opening in a side of the housing throughwhich air is drawn in by the fan during rotation of the latter, saidhousing further having air outlet means through which air is exhaustedfrom the housing upon rotation of the fan, said base including meansdefining a suction passage opening downwardly along a portion of thelower edge of said peripheral wall and opening upwardly at said top walladjacent said side of the housing, a removable cover enclosing a chamberalongside said housing and into which said opening of the air inletmeans and said suction passage both open so that the air drawn in by thefan passes successively through said suction passage and said chamber,and a removable porous dust collecting receptacle disposed in saidchamber and having a mouth engaged with said suction passage to collectdust entrained by said air drawn in by the fan, said air outlet meansincluding openings in said portion of the top wall of the base so thatpart of the air exhausted from said housing upon rotation of the fan isdirected into said hood, and bafile means in said hood extending aroundsaid surface treating members so that air pressure builds up in saidhood above said baffle means, said bafile means having openings thereinthrough which air escapes forcefully in response to the build-up of airpressure so as to blow dust away from said surface treating members.

7. In combined floor polishing and suction cleaning apparatus, thecombination of a unit adapted to be moved over a surface, rotatablebrush means at the underside of the unit and projecting downwardtherefrom for contact with the surface, a motor mounted on the unit at alevel which is above and in the general vicinity of the brush means, afan having an inlet and outlet for air, means including the motor fordriving the brush means and the fan, the unit having an upwardlyextending suction passage provided with suction inlet means for air atone level at the vicinity of the surface and air outlet means at ahigher level, the suction passage communicating with an opening in awall of the unit, dust collecting means including a removable porousdust bag having an air inlet connected to the air outlet means of thesuction passage, the motor being disposed at a first zone of the unitand the dust bag being disposed at a second zone of the unit adjacent toand laterally removed from the first zone, the dust bag extending upwardalongside the motor, the unit comprising structure providing a housingfor both the motor and the dust bag, the housing structure including apartition to provide separate compartments for the motor and dust bag,respectively, the air outlet means of the suction passage beingaccessible within the dust bag compartment which is defined in part bythe wall having the opening in communication with the suction passage,the partition having an opening to enable air passing outwardly throughthe porous dust bag to flow from the dust bag compartment, the inlet ofthe fan being in communication with the opening in the partition toinduce upward flow of air through the suction passage into the dust bag,the housing structure including a removable cover for the dust bagcompartment, the motor compartment being defined in part by an aperturedwall of the housing structure which'is in communication with the fanoutlet for discharging a part of the air exteriorly of the unit in afirst path of flow, and the unit including structure providing a secondpath of flow for air from the fan outlet in a downward direction to theunderside of the unit at the vicinity of the brush means.

8. In a surface treating apparatus of the described character; thecombination of a base having a top wall and a depending peripheral walldefining a downwardly opening hood, surface treating members rotatablymounted in said hood and projecting downwardly from the latter forcontact with a surface to be treated, means defining a housing on aportion of said top wall of the base, a fan rotatable in said housingabove said portion of the top wall, a drive motor in said housing abovesaid fan and connected to the latter and to said surface treatingmembers for effecting simultaneous rotation thereof, said housing havingair inlet means including an opening in a side of the housing throughwhich air is drawn in by the fan during rotation of the latter, saidhousing further having air outlet means through which air is exhaustedfrom the housing upon rotation of the fan, said baseincluding meansdefining a suction passage opening downwardly along a portion of thelower edge of said peripheral wall and opening upwardly at said top walladjacent said side of the housing, a removable cover enclosing a chamberalongside said housing and into which said opening of the air inletmeans and said suction passage both open so that the air drawn in by thefan passes successively through said suction passage and said chamber, aremovable porous dust collecting receptacle disposed in said chamber andhaving a mouth engaged with said suction passage to collect dustentrained by said air drawn in by the fan, a neck projecting upwardlyfrom said top wall of the base and forming an extension of said suctionpassage, and wherein said mouth of the dust collecting receptacle has acollar telescopically engaged with said neck, said dust collectingreceptacle having a rigid mounting plate from which said collar extendsand a porous pleated paper side wall extending upwardly from saidmounting plate, and said side Wall of the receptacle having uniformcross sections in the portion adjacent said mounting plate andincreasing progressively in cross-sectional area toward the opposite,normally upper end of the receptacle.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,697,918 1/29Keefer 15-328 4/32 Moorhead 15-328 5/ 33 Walter 15-320 X 4/35 Snell15-351 12/43 Sellers 15-347 2/51 Davis et al 15-412 X 4/53 Belknap15-320 X 9/53 Browne 15-384 X 9/ 53 Sheahan.

5/56 Ahlswede.

9/60 Nilsson 15-385 X 2/ 62 Bonfanti 15-385 X FOREIGN PATENTS 9/ 59Australia.

6/59 France.

9/ 3 0 Germany.

WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

20 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Examiner.

1. IN A SURFACE TREATING APPARATUS OF THE DESCRIBED CHARACTER; THECOMBINATION OF DOWNWARDLY OPENING BASE, ROTATABLE SURFACE TREATING MEANSMOUNTED WITHIN SAID BASE AND PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY FROM THE LATTER FORCONTACT WITH A SURFACE TO BE TREATED, A MOTOR-FAN UNIT ON SAID BASEHAVING AIR INLET MEANS AT A SIDE OF SAID UNIT AND AIR OUTLET MEANS, SAIDMOTOR-FAN UNIT BEING OPERATIVE TO DRIVE SAID SURFACE TREATING MEANS ANDTO PRODUCE A DECREASED PRESSURE AT SAID AIR INLET MEANS FOR INDUCING ANAIR FLOW INTO THE LATTER, SAID BASE HAVING A SUCTION PASSAGE OPENING ATTHE BOTTOM OF THE BASE, CONNECTION MEANS ON SAID BASE LOCATED ADJACENTSAID SIDE OF THE MOTOR-FAN UNIT AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SUCTIONPASSAGE, DUST COLLECTING MEANS INCLUDING A POROUS RECEPTACLE HAVING AMOUNT ENGAGED WITH SAID CONNECTION MEANS AND A COVER